Design

Ever heard of a Kawasaki Z970? Neither had we. But that’s the moniker the Wrenchmonkees have given their latest custom, a stunning Z750B that’s been bored out to almost a liter. It’s the pet project of company founder Per Nielsen, who wanted to build “the perfect City-Dirt tracker” with a beefed-up motor and loads of torque — via Bike EXIF

The LEED Equivalent South Park Library is a meeting place and focal point for the rich and diverse South Park neighborhood in Seattle.  Johnston Architects incorporated the spirit of the community within their design through material choices, colors, and gathering areas such as the courtyard/front porch space for the neighborhood — via ArchDaily

Commissioned by the Friendship Development Associates (FDA) as a central player in its community revitalization program, the Glass Lofts are a new mixed-use construction consisting of 39,000 sqf artist’s work spaces, 18 loft condominiums, retail and restaurant space, FDA offices and a flexible-use community space. Located at the center of the Penn Avenue Arts District, the Glass Lofts is the result of a community-driven planning process actively involving neighborhood residents, artists and business owners in the development of the project — via ArchDaily

Richard Mille unveils a new limited edition of his automatic diver’s watch, designed for and exclusively available at retailers in North and South America. The RM 028 Americas is a 30-piece edition featuring red and white details on a black DLC titanium case — via WatchTime

Bower Architecture designed the Resort House in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

The Resort House is a project of transformation, where a dark and dilapidated existing suburban house has been converted into a hidden oasis, abundant with natural light and seamlessly integrated indoor and outdoor spaces — via CONTEMPORIST

A little over a year ago, I wrote about this Green Concept Home in Bellevue, Washington.  The modern residence was finished under budget and according to schedule, and the owners are now working on obtaining LEED for Homes and Built Green certification.  Modus V Studio Architects designed and built Green Concept Home with a number of noteworthy green elements — via Jetson Green

One of my most favored Swiss watchmakers is prepping a number of new timepieces for the upcoming SIHH 2011 even. The new IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days Caliber 59210 watch (Ref. 5101) is among them — via World Watch Review

This house is all about sequence – a faded brick shell gives way to spaces mixing old and new, which in turn lead into ultramodern interiors deep within this former fire station compound. The heart is a blend of black, white and glass – a private modern retreat tucked like a nesting doll in a rich historic container — via Dornob

The new Baume & Mercier Capeland Flyback Chronograph watch is a modern re-interpretation of the classic monopusher from 1948 that will possibly appeal to the generation of baby boomers.

Soon to be presented at the forthcoming SIHH 2011 industry event, the new Baume & Mercier Capeland Flyback Chronograph watch will be delivered both in understated stainless steel case and in absolutely gorgeous rose gold version — via World Watch Review

The Thurston Wine House Addition carefully displays a respect for its context through its materiality and its tectonic language while expressing its unconventional program through its formal elements. Embedded into the topography of the site, the project takes advantage of its section by using the slope to decrease the visual impact of structure, allowing access to the northeast valley and McDowell Mountain views beyond. The Wine House also benefits from the thermal storage capacity of the earth itself, greatly reducing the demand of the mechanical systems throughout the year — via ArchDaily

The Scheme was for a new 94 bed boarding house for Badminton School, Bristol. Badminton is one of the foremost girl’s schools in the country and they wanted a forward looking building to provide new accommodation for the girls and house staff.

The building covers three storeys and is largely wrapped at the upper levels in an un-treated Larch cladding skin above a brick base that dissolves into the ground plane and the surrounding landscape. The building has a very efficient use of space to provide the accommodation and then the building is broken along its length to form the central circulation and social areas which flood the centre of the building with light and ventilation and to expand the views across the Avon valley behind — via ArchDaily

Recycling a single story suburban house located on a busy corner site, the Jigsaw Residence introverts itself in a continuous spatial flow around an open air courtyard carved from the home’s remains. A matrix of spaces is linked by movement through them as storeys merge and spaces relate to each other as they rise and fall in a series of interlocked puzzle-like volumes giving a unique three dimensional framework to each space where plan and section respond to program simultaneously — via ArchDaily

Soap bars are more efficient than liquid soap dispensers but are also a messy pain in the ass. Enter design student Nathalie Stämpfli’s Soap Flakes. It works like a pump dispenser and grates a small amount of soap into your hand when you pump the handle — via kottke.org

Dick Clark Architecture have designed the Terrace Mountain House in Austin, Texas.

Located on a steep site in Westlake Hills, oriented towards a spectacular view of downtown Austin, this 4,700 square foot house merges traditional Texas forms and materials with unique contemporary details.  The plan is simply arranged around an open living, dining, and kitchen space that accomodates the clients’ desire to entertain while providing a buffer between public and private use — via CONTEMPORIST

The popular Incursore collection from Glycine returns with a model II and model III. Relatively inexpensive, these watches comes with a few dial styles and with automatic or manually wound movements — via A Blog to Read

There is a thriving houseboat community on Seattle’s Lake Union. It is almost a shanty town: a squeezed-in suburb of houseboats living cheek by jowl, all enjoying great water views. But the variety of houseboats is so great that there are true luxury houseboats in with the simplest shacks.

This one is for sale — via Home Design Find

Together with its recently released RM 010 Boutique Special timepiece, the Swiss watchmaker has also introduced a Richard Mille RM 010 Black Night limited edition watch.

Like its sibling, the RM 010 Black Night is powered by the RM 005-basd RM 010 automatic caliber that features their proprietary variable geometry winding rotor.

The only difference between the base movement and its more recent incarnation is that the RM 010 is meticulously skeletonized and looks quite good both through the sapphire display back and the transparent dial — via World Watch Review

With sweeping views of the Cascades, Lake Union and just blocks from the exciting and eclectic Fremont district, this project consists of seven private town homes with shared underground parking in a cornerstone location. Sustainable building practices were employed throughout the design process and the project is seeking LEED Platinum certification status. Johnston Architects decided that in order to achieve the LEED rating for this project it was imperative to embed sustainable principles into the process from the get-go encompassing both the natural and urban environments while utilizing unique green practices — via ArchDaily