Design

Architect Jonathan Segal designed The Prospect house in La Jolla, San Diego, California — via CONTEMPORIST

The Grande Arche is a celebrated monument which marks the bicentennial of the French Revolution and is a distinctive piece reminiscent of 20th century architecture. The competition for a modernised Arche de Triomphe was won by Johann Otto von Spreckelsen, whose concept was more or less a hollowed, symmetrical cube. Situated just outside of Paris in the business district of la Défense, the Grande Arche completes the Historical Axis — extending from the Louvre along the Champs-Elysees to the Arche de Triomphe — and guides Paris to the future — via ArchDaily

Individual BrickBoxes can be reversed so as to display books or other items on one side or the other, correspondingly adding white space to the composition of the other.

Each box can be broken back down, packing flat for extra portability (if not being used to transport books). Their only hint of decor comes via the light wooden edges, adding smaller detail to the larger white-painted surfaces.

Finally, each set of boxes can also be firmly interlocked for more permanent shelf storage, and/or raised up on casters and wheeled around a room. Currently, the the BrickBox is only for sale in Europe — and not entirely cheap, but nor is it cheaply made — via Dornob

Designer Fernanda Marques‘ core idea involved tying together a classic country villa with the rigorous Modernism of masters like Mies van der Rohe, weaving a series of boxy rectangular forms into their environment on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil — via Dornob

This is a watch honouring Anders Celsius, the inventor of the modern temperature measurement scale. Though, this is not the first time BALL has incorporated a mechanical thermometer into one of its watches — the mechanical thermometer module can also be found on BALL’s Engineer Master Diver II TMT watch. The mechanical thermometer module (TMT) was developed and patented by BALL, and is able to measure the outside temperature between -35°C and 45°C with an accuracy of 97%; the thermometer readings are given in the half-moon shaped window at six o’clock on the dial. As a final homage to the inventor of the modern temperature scale, the caseback bears the portrait of Anders Celsius — via Perpetuelle.com Watch Blog

Micheas Architects have designed the M-House in Mexico City, Mexico — via CONTEMPORIST

The C700 Grand Rapide Chronograph is made from a carbon fibre dial as used in the aerospace industry, the military and Formula 1, which is good if nothing groundbreaking — via Watchuseek Watch Blog

If you’ve never heard of the Villa V4, it’s not surprising: this racing motorcycle never turned a wheel in anger. The lovely machine here is an immaculate replica of Francesco Villa’s planned 1969 GP racer — a bike that was killed overnight by an FIM edict limiting 250cc bikes to two cylinders. This example was built in 2008 by one of Villa’s former employees, and uses many original components. It’s going to be auctioned off by Bonhams at the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show in the UK on 16 October, and the estimate is — wait for it — $40,000 to $55,000 — via Bike EXIF

The Bridle Road House in Cape Town, South Africa by Chilean architect Antonio Zaninovic won an American Society of Landscape Architects Honour Award, for both the house and the landscaping. It is comfortably sited in big sky country at the base of Table Mountain.

Both suburban and sophisticated, the South African house rests easily at the intersection between the tamed and the wild — via Home Design Find

In 1948, when London happened to host its first Olympic Games, the Swiss watchmaker has also presented its very first Omega Seamaster hand-wound timekeeper. Now, 63 years later, as the British capital is making the final preparations to host the 2012 Olympic Games, Omega reintroduces the model as the Omega Seamaster 1948 Co-Axial London 2012 Limited Edition automatic watch.

Predictably limited to only 1948 individually numbered pieces, the new Omega Seamaster 1948 Co-Axial London 2012 follows the path paved by the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 44 London automatic chronograph watch that was officially introduced just three months ago, in May, 2011 — via World Watch Review

There’s a story behind most bikes, but there’s more of a story behind Team Badger than most. At heart, it’s a sturdy 2007-model Royal Enfield Bullet. In the bigger picture, it’s an experiment in collaboration, social media and bike industry commentary. The man behind this raw and curiously appealing machine is Leon Stanley of Cycle Icons in Trenton, NJ. It’s a vintage-oriented shop, dedicated to preserving the spirit and sport of vintage and classically styled motorcycling. Cycle Icons used to be a Royal Enfield dealer, and the brand is still a big part of what they do — via Bike EXIF

Muir Mendes were their own clients in this case, working weekends outside of firm hours to complete their urban dream home. As enclosed and uninviting as it looks from the front, it is open to daylight and an outdoor deck to the rear.

Inside, too, the residence is lit from above via a second-story-ceiling skylight, open all the way to the first floor via a continuous, house-long, double-height corridor — via Dornob

IWC Schaffhausen have just launched a new rattrapante chronograph, the Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium — a split-seconds chronograph which enables the wearer to simultaneously measure two timed events.

The case of the new Ingenieur is made of titanium which is light, durable, has ultra low conductivity and will not cause any skin allergies. The case measures 45 mm in diameter and is 16 mm thick. Black DLC coated screws secure the bezel to the case while the pushers and crown are coated in vulcanised black rubber — via Watchuseek Watch Blog

Nestled between cooled lava flows, the Kona residence [Belzberg Architects] situates its axis not with the linearity of the property, but rather with the axiality of predominant views available to the site. Within the dichotomy of natural elements and a geometric hardscape, the residence integrates both the surrounding views of volcanic mountain ranges to the east and ocean horizons westward — via ArchDaily

Dasparkhotel is a concept hotel by Andreas Strauss in which guests stay in converted drain pipe sections that are placed in a city park. There are currently two hotels, one near Essen, Germany, and another in Ottensheim, Austria. Dasparkhotel accepts online reservations from May to October and is sliding scale — via Laughing Squid

Three months ago, Richard Pollock sent us shots of a new bike he was working on. It was destined to become the prototype for the well-received Streetmaster Brighton café racer and So-Cal Miler tracker, and we’ve now got our hands on proper studio shots. As you can see, it’s a beauty. According to Streetmaster‘s Chris Dodge, the bike is packing their full complement of engine upgrades — including a cam, head porting, lightened flywheel and more — via Bike EXIF

Mejiro Studio designed the SMG apartment building in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan — via CONTEMPORIST

Tony Owen, namesake of Tony Owen Architects has shared with us his firm’s latest project, a pair of townhouses in the in the Sydney suburb of Newtown — via ArchDaily

Solo House Casa Pezo is part of the Solo Houses concept, series of eight to ten vacation homes designed by some of the talented young international designers. Pezo Von Ellrichshausen Architects, Mos Office, Didier Faustino and his studio Mésarchitectures, Sou Fujimoto, Studio Mumbai, and TNA — Takei-Nabeshima-Architects are among the architects designing the 200 sqm size homes, with the first collection to be set in the countryside of Matarraña — via ArchDaily