Azure Magazine News & Views

Canvassing Opinion

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Coming up on Sunday May 18th at this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York: left coast design lab Orange 22 will launch its Botanist Blank Canvas project. Eight designers – including Margo Chase (design shown) and the inimitable Milton Glaser – will show off their take on a new line of the company's sleek minimalist furniture, at an exclusive launch and silent auction at the Chelsea Art Museum.

How To Help Myanmar

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar on May 3, Architecture for Humanity – an international non-profit that links designers and architects to those supplying housing for disaster relief efforts – estimates that over 1 million people may now be in need of emergency housing. Here's how you can help.

Making Contact

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Torontonians: are billboard-sized photographs turning up in the oddest places? Images of upside-down trees wrapped around the Gardiner Expressway posts? A massive mural on Queen Street of a building explosion? If you haven’t already figured it out, this is photography month in Toronto. And this is no pseudo, ad-hoc event: Toronto’s Contact photography festival is now the world’s largest event dedicated to photography.

An Expansive Vision

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The west coast aims high when it comes to living green, and Bunting Coady is doing their part. The Vancouver-based firm boasts an impressive sustainable projects list — and the Kwantlen University College Library in Surrey, BC, completed in late 2007 and now registered for LEED Platinum certification, is only the latest.

The Paper Architect

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Shigeru Ban’s name is synonymous with creativity. His work literally turns notions of what’s possible in design inside out. He has designed everything from houses with moveable rooms, to temporary shelters in refugee camps that use paper tubes as their primary construction material. And he's not just a humanitarian on a mission—during a recent talk at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, Ban proved that architects can be funny, too.

This Side Up

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The graduating design students at Montreal’s Concordia University have one final stop before they enter the design world: This Side Up, the student-organized graduate show running from April 30 to May 5. It showcases the next generation of design – with a healthy dose of sustainability.

War Underfoot

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Weavers in Afghanistan have endured war so long, they've converted imagery of its instruments into carpets – textiles featuring AK-47s, tanks, fighter jets and landmines. Starting April 25, and running until January 29 of next year, 120 of these war rugs are on display at Toronto’s Textile Museum of Canada. Catherine Osborne considers these fascinating oddities for the April editon of The Art Page.

Introducing the Strida

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In an era of ever-denser cities and ever-mounting fuel costs, the Strida offers a solution for the car-weary: a foldable bicycle that takes the commuter bike from sensible to sexy. Rachel Pulfer reports on the Strida's arrival in North America for this month's edition of Material World, a column that tracks the meeting-points of culture and commerce.

Steven Holl's China

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

From April 25 to 28, New York's Frederieke Taylor Gallery will exhibit a series of ten watercolours by architect Steven Holl at the China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE).

Now That's A Waterfront

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Nestled in Southeast Asia, the islands of Malaysia proudly showcase two of the tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Putrajaya is the waterfront 30 kilometres south of the capital, and it’s about to step into the architectural limelight. Studio Nicoletti, based out of Rome, Italy, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based Hijjas Kasturi Associates have been busy designing a series of eight sustainable towers for a new residential waterfront development at Precinct 4, to be completed by 2010.