|
Team BUILD just returned from Manhattan and we’ve got some design infused hot-spots to share. Some are brand spanking new, some are just new to us – but all of them made for a smashing trip. More on The Modern List Manhattan…
Beast restaurant and bar in the Lower East Side, 171 East Broadway, 212 228 3100
[Photo by Ryan Charles]
We just returned from the breathtaking state of Colorado where we’re working on a new project. The trip out allowed us to do a bit of traveling around, and to put it simply – we were blown away at the cool architecture, dramatic mountain ranges and fall colors. With a tremendous amount of help from friends, we scouted out some well-designed, modern work that we think you’ll enjoy getting your eyes on:
We turn our backs for 5 minutes and Portland conjures up a whole new coolness. Recently, we re-familiarized ourselves with the Land of Ports and have returned to saturate the BUILDblog with a handful of pleasant surprises. Not only is good design ubiquitous in Portland, but there’s a new aesthetic coming into being. It’s modern and gritty; it re-uses the timeless elements from the past and combines them with innovations of the present. It’s designed and unique but not self-conscious or exclusive. Check these joints out and let us know what we missed. Many more on The Modern List Portland.
HOTELS
Ace Hotel, 1022 SW Stark Str, 503.228.2277
The recent remodel by Atelier Ace (Ace Hotel’s design studio) turned the previous Clyde hotel into bohemian aesthetic that makes modern use of found objects. The individual rooms do a nice job of displaying the work of many northwest artists.
We just returned from Manhattan where we dove headfirst into the latest modern architecture, design, art, food and culture. It’s a great time for a trip to NYC because even the design hotels are offering outstanding rates. We got a screamin deal at the Gramercy Park Hotel this time – an establishment so exclusive that they usually don’t even let rubbish like us into the bar. Boutique restaurants were hosting recession specials and happy-hours were plentiful. Below are the spots that we recommend checking out; we must have missed dozens of cool, new, modern places – so hit that comments button and give us the scoop. As per usual – these will be added to The Modern List where you can find many more.
[Photo by BigBoyB]
In addition to a few recent projects here in Seattle, we’ve noticed that there are some great examples of architecture that have been around for decades and should be represented. Today’s post should bring you up to speed with the current work as well as some staples of Seattle design that we should all be familiar with. Many more on The Modern List Seattle… and as always, let us know what we missed.
Recently, the City of Seattle authorized the painting of repetitive geometrical patterns to the underside of some of the more oppressive I-5 underpasses. We got our own up here in Ravenna, and we have to admit that it makes the pedestrian experience much more pleasant. Coincidence that we named this location as one of the top candidates to turn into a legal graffiti park in an earlier post?
[Photo by BUILD LLC]
BUILD just returned from New York City where we field tested the new and improved Modern List Manhattan. The database of all things modern is iPhone friendly now and each entry links directly to Google Maps – eliminating the need for physical maps. Supplement the Modern List with a credit-card size subway map (found at Barnes & Noble) and you’ve got everything you need for urban adventure. We’ve got a few tweaks to make here and there (like adding a digital subway map) but overall it’s a great way to see a lot of city with a minimum amount of travel ‘stuff’. There are tons of new entries for you modernists out there (if you can put up with our crappy photos), and many more on The Modern List:
This post on St. Petersburg is the 3rd and final modern list guide from our recent travels which also include Stockholm and Helsinki. There are many reasons to visit St. Petersburg: a robust and fascinating history, political importance, physical size and opulence, world class museums, theater… the list is long and primarily exclusive of anything modern.
BUILD llc recently returned from Scandinavia where we tracked the latest modern architecture, design, art, food and culture. Helsinki is a convenient overnight boat ride away from Stockholm – the cost of taking the overnight ferry is actually less than most hotel rooms in either city. Helsinki is small enough to get your head around, pedestrian friendly and full of rich design. Scandinavian’s have a knack for subtle, sensible design and Helsinki didn’t let us down with it’s no-nonsense warm modernism. The people are a bit reticent, but maybe that’s what happens after you’ve been in between a Swedish-Russian tug-of-war for several hundred years. At any rate, since 1917 Finland has held its own politically and as a hub of design. The Modern List 2 page 14KB PDF download can be found here: TML-Finland. The list is full of restaurants, design shops and other finds, here are some of our favorites:
Temppeliaukio Church, or church of the rock, is not to be missed. Designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and completed in 1969 the church has been inserted within a natural rock depression at the city’s center. The church is a photographer’s daydream in terms of the photographic exploration and serendipity. And a nightmare due to the shear number of tourists pouring out of buses and incessantly flashing their point-and-shoots.
[photos by BUILD llc]
We’re back from Scandinavia and we’ve got the scoop on the latest modern architecture, design, art, food and culture.
First up, Stockholm… everything from a toothbrush to a museum is conscientiously created with a forward thinking, yet humanistic, design philosophy. Beautiful people, inspiring design, and a pleasant atmosphere. If it weren’t for the outrageous prices and weak U.S. dollar we would have bought a sommarstuga and lived out our days talking funny and fishing for herring.
The Modern List Stockholm (14KB PDF) can be downloaded here: tml-stockholm. In addition to the list we’ve rounded up some of our favorites below.
Thanks to the constant harassment of our tech savvy friends, we’ve finally migrated the Flash based Modern List website to an html blog format. Subsequently the new and improved Modern List has a fresh face and better function (hopefully). The benefits are:
The Modern List now works on your iPhone, Treo and Blackberry
There are hotlinks to Google Maps for addresses & auto dial hotlinks for phone #s
The entire site is now html so you can copy and paste the text
The loading should be a bit faster
It’s easier and faster for us to update the content
Our friends can’t make fun of us anymore for using Flash
The disadvantage of moving from a Flash based site is that we have less control over the graphics and composition of the site – but we’ve done our best with the WordPress template. The Flash based site also worked well with the Adobe Illustrator files which were the source files for the physical book. So there won’t be a book anymore -but who needs a book when you can get it on your iPhone.
So take The Modern List Seattle for a test spin and tell us what you think. After we get some feedback we’ll continue to update the other cities and maybe even add more…
