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Dezeen recently announced its 2019 interior award winners and this 17.6 square meter (~190 square foot) flat in Taipei was selected for "small interior of the year." Designed by the Taiwanese studio A Little Design, the space features a 3.4m ceiling height and a queen-size sleeping loft. The design is very well done.
But as I was looking through the photos, I couldn't help but think, "This is about the size of a parking spot in Toronto." Typically, the minimum dimensions for a parking space are 2.6m wide by 5.6m long. If either side is obstructed or the drive aisle is substandard, these dimensions need to be increased.
So we're not far off.
Some of you will interpret this to mean that the apartment is too small; whereas some of you will interpret this to mean that the spaces we dedicate to cars are too big. It's a matter of perspective. But what is clear is that there is a market for small urban spaces. Here are some other examples from São Paulo, Beirut, and Moscow.
Photo: Hey! Cheese
Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) is launching a new awards program this September called the Value of Design Awards (VODA). And for some reason they asked me to be one of their inaugural judges. I think the talented folks at figure3 had something to do with that. Link here.
What’s interesting about VODA is that many or most ID awards focus on design that simply looks cool. The ambition of this awards program is to recognize and celebrate the positive impact that Canadian design thinking has on people and businesses. In other words: How does it actually perform?
To submit your project to IDC’s Value of Design Awards, go here. The final entry deadline is June 8, 2018. So you don’t have much time left.
I am a big fan of the company Squarespace. They have a great and beautiful product. I use them for globizen.com.
Recently they moved into a new office in Lower Manhattan (98,000 sf), which was a consolidation of 4 distributed offices. The interiors were designed by New York-based A+I.
Not surprisingly, it’s a beautiful space:
Dezeen recently announced its 2019 interior award winners and this 17.6 square meter (~190 square foot) flat in Taipei was selected for "small interior of the year." Designed by the Taiwanese studio A Little Design, the space features a 3.4m ceiling height and a queen-size sleeping loft. The design is very well done.
But as I was looking through the photos, I couldn't help but think, "This is about the size of a parking spot in Toronto." Typically, the minimum dimensions for a parking space are 2.6m wide by 5.6m long. If either side is obstructed or the drive aisle is substandard, these dimensions need to be increased.
So we're not far off.
Some of you will interpret this to mean that the apartment is too small; whereas some of you will interpret this to mean that the spaces we dedicate to cars are too big. It's a matter of perspective. But what is clear is that there is a market for small urban spaces. Here are some other examples from São Paulo, Beirut, and Moscow.
Photo: Hey! Cheese
Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) is launching a new awards program this September called the Value of Design Awards (VODA). And for some reason they asked me to be one of their inaugural judges. I think the talented folks at figure3 had something to do with that. Link here.
What’s interesting about VODA is that many or most ID awards focus on design that simply looks cool. The ambition of this awards program is to recognize and celebrate the positive impact that Canadian design thinking has on people and businesses. In other words: How does it actually perform?
To submit your project to IDC’s Value of Design Awards, go here. The final entry deadline is June 8, 2018. So you don’t have much time left.
I am a big fan of the company Squarespace. They have a great and beautiful product. I use them for globizen.com.
Recently they moved into a new office in Lower Manhattan (98,000 sf), which was a consolidation of 4 distributed offices. The interiors were designed by New York-based A+I.
Not surprisingly, it’s a beautiful space:
(Photography by Magda Biernat via Contemporist)
But two other things stood out for me.
One: The amount of informal working/meeting spaces. I really had to look for the conventional office seating.
Two: The ground floor presence and the lobby which doubles as a possible event space.
For consumer-facing companies, I am really attracted to having a street presence and having spaces that can be programmed. It’s a way to engage and plug in to what’s happening beyond the office. Here’s a related example.
I’m not sure if their narrative is the same as mine, but regardless: cool space.
(Photography by Magda Biernat via Contemporist)
But two other things stood out for me.
One: The amount of informal working/meeting spaces. I really had to look for the conventional office seating.
Two: The ground floor presence and the lobby which doubles as a possible event space.
For consumer-facing companies, I am really attracted to having a street presence and having spaces that can be programmed. It’s a way to engage and plug in to what’s happening beyond the office. Here’s a related example.
I’m not sure if their narrative is the same as mine, but regardless: cool space.
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