Personal
updates, random thoughts, and stuff that I resist emailing to everyone
on my contact list so I'll just post it here.
06.30.2010
I
took some time off last week to replace our aging 1940s front door.
It was peeling paint, leaking cold air, and occasionally the knob
would come off in your hands. The removal and replacement occured
on Monday, followed by 4 days of stain, polyurethane, and trim.
Still a bit more to do (exterior trim paint), but the before-and-after
is already pretty dramatic:
The
new door classes up the whole house:
For
those of you interested in the details: it's a wood door by Simpson,
solid fir, with 'Seedy Baroque' glass and antique brass hardware.
Don't ask me what kind of flowers those are ... the wife planted
those. I just mow the lawn weeds every weekend.
Here's
a couple more photos.
06.28.2010
The
third installment of the Top Five, posted last week on the TruexCullins
Blog :
Top Five: Hotels
Just
in time for your summer vacation plans, this week we look at five
of our top hotels for interior design. All of these are places that
we have experienced firsthand, and have walked away with a strong
impression. We tried to mix it up so that no matter what kind of
vacation you’re planning, or which corner of the country you’re
visiting, there is something here for everyone.
We
know hotel design, both in our architectural practice and our interior
design studio. But I should mention that we excluded any of our
own projects from this list of five. Instead, this is our unbiased
look at the work of other design firms, taking note of where we
find inspiration.
1.
HOTEL TERRA, Teton Village, WY
One of our favorite places to stay when traveling out west is the
Hotel Terra, located at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
and just one mile from the Grand Teton National Park. Some of the
best skiing in the country is right at your door, and you’re
just steps from some of the most beautiful expanses of national
wilderness you will ever see. TruexCullins has worked in the neighborhood,
on both the Teton Mountain Lodge and Teton Springs Resort, so we’re
familiar with the area and all it has to offer.
But
beyond the desirable locale, we love the Hotel Terra for its ‘modern
mountain’ aesthetic and environmentally-focused design. The
Terra was one of the first LEED-certified hotels when it opened
a few years ago. It is now charting new ground for the whole hospitality
industry, proving that sustainability and luxury can peacefully
coexist. In fact, at the Hotel Terra, we would say its environmental
amenities actually define the guest experience: natural, healthy,
and luxurious.
2.
THE LIBERTY HOTEL, Boston, MA
The Charles Street Jail was built in 1851 on the edge of Beacon
Hill, overlooking the Charles River. After closing in 1990 due to
deteriorating conditions, the historic building was transformed
into a modern luxury hotel that retains the feel of the century-old
prison. Dubbed the Liberty Hotel, this is our #2 pick for its clever
integration of old and new.
The
large historic windows have been beautifully preserved, along with
the original stone and brick masonry and the prison cell iron bars.
The jail’s central atrium soars 90 feet and forms the core
of the hotel lobby, encircled by the catwalks once used by prison
guards. 18 of the guestrooms are housed in the original jail, with
the remaining 280 rooms located in a new 16-story tower connected
to the main building. Stay in this hotel and you will truly feel
like a pampered prisoner.
3.
ARIA, Las Vegas, NV
The Aria Resort is the largest hotel of the $8.5 billion CityCenter
mega-development in the heart of the Las Vegas strip. As with all
things Vegas, the scale is impressive, with over 4,000 guestrooms,
16 restaurants, and a dedicated mass-transit system to bring you
from one end of the property to the other. CityCenter is the largest
private development in US history and takes up 67 acres of real
estate in the middle of the Las Vegas desert. Yet in spite of this
massive scale, the hotel has received LEED-Gold certification.
Even
more than its scale or sustainability, Aria’s most notable
feature is the fact that it represents a radical departure from
the themed approach of Las Vegas’ recent past. Instead of
reconstructed Italian piazzas or Egyptian tombs, the architecture
of Aria is firmly based on unadorned modernism. This is its strategy
for achieving authenticity: it is not trying to be anything that
it’s not.
CityCenter
has been called a referendum on modernism itself. When we were there,
just 5 months after it opened in December 2009, the crowds seemed
healthy but not overwhelming. Guestroom occupancy rates are down,
and sales of the neighboring residential units are even worse. Still,
the verdict is out whether the masses will embrace this new chapter
in the continual reinvention of Las Vegas.
4.
HOTEL AT THE THREE STORKS, Prague, Czech Republic
This is a good time for a trip to Europe, with the American dollar
so strong against the Euro. If your travels take you to the Czech
Republic, you should check into the Hotel at the Three Storks. This
5-star luxury boutique hotel is located in the historic center of
the city in a recently renovated historic house. The Renaissance
building has been sensitively but unabashedly updated with an unconventional,
modern interior. We especially love the dramatic use of indirect
lighting, in the guestrooms and the public spaces. Light flows from
behind objects and around corners, casting a soft glow over the
space and accenting key features.
5.
ICE HOTEL, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, Quebec
Just north of the border, about 30 minutes from Quebec City, lies
a hotel made entirely of ice. It is actually rebuilt every winter,
and open for a few short months during the coldest season. The Ice
Hotel, or Hotel de Glace, changes and grows each year. It is now
up to 36 guestrooms and suites, each with unique ice carvings and
some with fireplaces. Multiple layers of animal pelts keep you warm
at night, and you can take a dip in one of the open-air hot tubs
to warm up. The Ice Bar is the center of the action, where the house
specialty is Vodka, of course (served in an ice glass). There is
also a chapel that’s popular for weddings.
I
was there in 2002, one year after its inaugural season. It has been
rebuilt every year since, and this winter the Ice Hotel celebrated
its 10th anniversary. For the first time this March, it had to close
2 weeks early due to a record warm winter, (another consequence
of global warming). But for those 10 weeks of winter we still have,
the Ice Hotel is one of the most memorable hotels you will encounter.
06.16.2010
Here's
the second post of what might be an 8 to 10-week series on the TruexCullins
Blog :
Top
Five: Task Lights
At
the lighting exhibit that was held in our office earlier this year,
we had the fortunate opportunity to evaluate and compare many of
the newest lighting fixtures on the market. One of the goals of
the event was to show products that were not just adapted for LEDs,
but ones that used the characteristics of these new technologies
to influence the design of the fixture itself. We had a variety
of fixture types and styles on display, but the one category that
I felt best captured the promise of what LEDs can do for lighting
fixture design was the workplace task light.
It
makes sense that personal task fixtures are the first beneficiary
of LED lighting, when you consider the fact that LED modules are
a very focused point source of illumination, perfect for directing
bright light onto a small, specific area. They’re also not
cheap (although the prices are dropping rapidly), so it’s
easier to absorb the cost of LED technology into a $300 task light
than a $50 recessed downlight, for example. And finally, the companies
that are producing most of these task lights have the intellectual
and creative firepower to invest in the development of these new
products. I’m talking primarily about the Big Three (Steelcase,
Herman Miller, and Haworth), and I always love seeing what they
are coming out with next.
These
five fixtures are good examples of the best designs in personal
task lights. And they all happen to use LEDs.
1.
Link Lamp by Pablo Designs
The Link Lamp is a contemporary reinvention of the iconic task light,
and it was my favorite fixture we had on display. Designed by Peter
Stathis for Pablo Designs, the lamp features 15 LEDs that consume
just 7.5 to 9 watts of power.
Stathis
started with the classic task lamp and simplified its mechanical
complexity, stripping away the tension cables and wiring. The head
is a flat disc, with no need for a shade, and there is no internal
wiring: the power is conducted along the aluminum body. The die-cast
zinc base is shaped into an L to fit into the corner of your desk,
the aluminum body is highly adjustable, and the diffused LEDs have
two brightness settings. The Link is an efficient, sustainable,
cradle-to-cradle design, and the form is simple and elegant.
The
Link Lamp won best lighting award at the International Contemporary
Furniture Fair when it was released in 2008, and has been heaped
with acclaim since then. At our exhibit, I had it on display next
to the classic Tolomeo (see below), to really appreciate the evolution
of the design. It’s fair to say that this one is destined
to become a classic as well.
2.
Tolomeo LED Task Light by Artemide
The Tolomeo task light by Artemide is a modern classic. A symbol
of Italian design for more than 20 years, this fixture has become
one of the most recognizable task lights in the world. I think of
this as the “Aeron chair of task lights”, with its contemporary
articulated armature and its coming of age during the high-tech
dot-com years. It is a beautiful and expressive work of industrial
design.
One
disadvantage of the conventional model is that the shade surrounding
the incandescent bulb gets very hot. That problem was solved when
Artemide came out with this new LED version of the classic Tolomeo.
LED
lamps do produce heat, but the heat is conducted out the back and
not radiated forward, as an incandescent bulb does. With a properly
designed housing, this heat can be easily dissipated. The LED Tolomeo
also provides superior light output and energy efficiency, consuming
just 10 watts of power, making it as sustainable as it is timeless.
3.
Leaf Personal Light by Herman Miller
Herman Miller is known for beautifully sculpted objects, and the
Leaf Light is a perfect example. This was perhaps the most popular
fixture at our lighting show, grabbing everyone’s attention
with its sculptural, organic form and flexibility. The 9 watt LEDs
are controlled with a clever interface in the top of the round base.
By dragging your finger along the touch-sensitive grooves, you can
change the color and intensity of the light. The thin aluminum blades
of the body are movable as well, allowing for an unlimited number
of turns and positions. The Leaf Light was designed by Yves Behar
and released in 2006. It is already over 4 years old, (a lifetime
in the world of LED lighting) but it’s still holding on to
its position as one of the top task lights in design and operation.
4.
Brazo Lamp by Haworth
Designed for Haworth by Pablo Designs, the Brazo Lamp is another
fixture that is highly adjustable by the user. It features LED lights
with full dimming control via the knob at the back end of the arm.
It is the first task light to offer focus control - the simple rotation
of the glass tube dial located at the front of the shade changes
the direction and the beam spread of the light. The lamp also features
360 degree head rotation and height adjustment. Overall, it consumes
just 9 watts, but because of the linear arrangement of the LED modules
and the multitude of available adjustments, this fixture shines
the right amount of light where you need it.
5.
Soto LED Task Light by Details
Details is part of the Steelcase family, and they named this line
of fixtures SOTO for “State of the Office”. Of all the
fixtures we’ve been looking at, the SOTO LED task light is
even more simple and minimal in its design. This is possible because
LED modules are SMALL. There is no bulb or filament or glass housing
to deal with. LEDs are an electrical diode, an offshoot of the semiconductor
industry, and take up a fraction of the space that we’re used
to with conventional bulbs. It’s a liberating technology for
the design, because it frees up the fixture to be so much more...
or in this case, so much less.
Just
like the flat head of the Link Lamp or the thin blades of the Leaf
Light, the SOTO Task Light is defined by its minimal profile. The
switch to control the light is built into the side of the head -
you just slide it slightly to turn it on. The beauty of this fixture
comes from its simplicity of form and operation.
The
SOTO Task Light wins the low-power competition, coming in at a measly
4 watts. The SOTO comes as a freestanding fixture (shown) or a rail-mounted
version. The Mini SOTO is an even smaller option that is able to
be mounted via magnet or screws to the underside of a cabinet or
shelf, providing illumination in spaces that might not be reachable
by typical under-bin lighting. The Mini SOTO is just 7” x
5/8” x 1 3/8” and also uses a 4 watt LED.
06.09.2010
I
thought it would be okay if I started double-posting, so here is
an article that I published today to the TruexCullins
Blog... This is the first of a 'summer series' that I started
to keep my mind busy during the warmer months.
Top
Five: Chairs
This
new series on the blog takes a look at the Top Five for designs
that have recently caught our attention. The initial subject of
our investigation is that which many of us designers are enamored
with: the chair.
When
it comes to furniture design (and more broadly, the entire field
of industrial design) the chair is the Holy Grail of form and function.
Chairs have perhaps the most challenging performance requirements
of any crafted object I can think of: they must be strong enough
to support a full-sized adult, ergonomic for different body types,
and comfortable for long stretches of time. A good chair should
be one that you want to stand back from and admire as a work of
art, but also one that invites you to walk up and take a seat.
1.
Eames Lounge Chair by Herman Miller
This list is intended to be a selection of some of our favorites,
not a presumption that these are the top five best chairs ever produced.
But with this first one, I’m going to break my own rule, and
unequivocally state that this is indeed the top chair of all time.
The Eames Lounge Chair is the classic example of mid-century modern
design at its best. Designed by the dynamic American duo of Charles
and Ray Eames and introduced in the 1950’s, the chair incorporated
an innovative molded plywood shell, and was – and is still
– a perfect example of modern elegance. It goes without saying
that it fits you like a glove – a baseball mitt, to be exact.
The
Eames Lounge Chair is probably one of the most-imitated chairs out
there. There are plenty of copies to be found. (Not that there’s
anything wrong with that. I have a pretty decent knock-off in my
own living room that has lasted for years.) One of the first things
I notice when I come across an original it how small it actually
is. It sits low to the ground and wraps snugly around you. You don’t
feel lost when you sit. You feel like every curve is carefully designed
to hold and support you. The other telltale signs of an authentic
Eames are its lack of visible fasteners on the exterior surface
of the bent plywood shell, and the die-cast aluminum 5-star base.
This chair is 50 years old, but is still on the top of the list.
2.
Dezza Armchair by Poltrona Frau
The Dezza Armchair was designed by the Italian architect and furniture
designer Gio Ponti for Poltrona Frau in 1965 and was more recently
reintroduced by the company in 2003. The chair is modern, comfortable,
lightweight, and sturdy. It was originally designed to be adaptable,
able to be taken down and shipped anywhere. This is evident in the
distinctive sharp cut of the slender arms and the simplicity of
its construction, with exposed fasteners on the sides. This is an
extremely stylish and unique chair. That a single piece can be so
elegant, innovative and adaptable at the same time is reason why
this chair is one of our top five.
3.
Child's Womb Chair by KnollStudio
As the father of two small children, I couldn't resist this adorable
child's chair from the Knoll Kids line of classic modern furniture.
The folks at Knoll took the classic 1948 Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen
and miniaturized it, shrinking it to child-like proportions. We
saw this chair at the NeoCon trade fair in Chicago two couple years
ago sitting alongside its adult counterparts. The standard version
already comes in multiple sizes, so it was natural to extend the
family to include the kids. The Womb chair is a modern, playful
piece, so it’s the perfect chair to make child-sized: casual,
comfortable, and stylish.
4.
Forest Armchair by Janus et Cie
This is a new chair by the upscale casual furnishings company JANUS
et Cie. It’s similar to the Vegetal Chair by Vitra, but I
like the more intricate pattern on this one much more. And while
the Vegetal chair is plastic, the Forest chair is constructed of
powder-coated die-cast aluminum, so it’s very sturdy. As you
can see, the Forest Chair takes an organic motif of a leafy forest
and wraps it onto a single, fluid surface. Our Janus rep brought
one by our office when it was released, so we can vouch for its
comfort. As designers in Vermont, we could easily see this chair
as a beautiful complement to any one of a number of our projects
around here. It’s modern, but contextual.
5.
Caper Chair by Herman Miller
I had wanted to spread the wealth here, but I have to include one
more chair by Herman Miller. The Caper Chair to me is the best example
of a lightweight, comfortable, and stylish office side chair. Did
I mention this thing was lightweight? It is very light: you can
lift this chair with one finger. Yet it sits firmly on the ground.
It is unassuming and performs flawlessly when you want it to - with
comfort, strength, and a bit of flex - but is also artfully sculpted
when you stop to take a look.
05.05.2010
We've found that the second one gets photographed
a lot less than the first one. Now that there's one parent per child,
there's just no one left to hold the camera. But we try. Tonight
I posted a few snapshots from the past two months, continuing our
photographic documentation of Tegan's
first year.
04.04.2010
Ah, Jetta, we've had such good times together. You've been
so good to me. I will miss you.
FOR SALE: Silver
2000 VW Jetta GLS, 4 door, 5 speed manual, under 115k miles. Power
windows and locks; alarm; A/C. This car runs great and is fun
to drive! No problems, no rust. I am the original owner.
Bonus features: Premium stereo with 6-disc CD changer with extra
magazine; 2 Nordman2 snow tires, purchased in 2007; and front
all-weather rubber floor mats.
A
good buy at $3,800.
There
are more photos on our Craigslist
ad.
03.18.2010
Anna was chosen as one of about two dozen students in her
school to have a piece of her artwork displayed as part of the Children's
Art Exhibition in City Hall. The students came from all 6 of the
Burlington elementary schools, from kindergarten thru grade 5. She
was one of the youngest ones up there. The exhibit is a program
of Burlington City Arts.. more info on their webpage.
The
opening reception and awards ceremony was held last night (yes,
on St. Patty's Day) where Anna received a certificate and shook
the hand of our esteemed mayor, Bob Kiss.
Anna's
artwork was cleverly titled "Symmetree".
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