Design

Penrose tilings (Wikipedia), named for British mathematical physicist Sir Roger Penrose, who investigated them in the 1970s, are interestingly aperiodic, or, simply put, do not repeat themselves no matter how far you extend the pattern. All Penrose tilings are aperiodic, but not all aperiodic tilings are Penrose tilings.

Lots of bright creative folks have installed custom Penrose tile floors. Here’s a selection of a few of my faves from around the web. I couldn’t find anybody selling pre-cut Penrose prototiles, so it looks like anybody who wants to do it themselves has to cut their own. At least until some motivated entrepreneur comes along
— via MAKE

Widely known for it’s extreme cost of construction, the Scottish Parliament by Enric Miralles is a remarkable example of incorporating architecture into it’s surroundings.

The Parliament sits in the land. We have the feeling that the building should be land, built out of land. To carve in the land the form of gathering people together… Scotland is a land… The land itself will be a material, a physical building material… — via ArchDaily

A family with 3 children gave us [calimùcho] an appointment in front of their new purchase «to be renovated»… at least that is what they told us ! When we saw the building, or better, «the remains» of the building, we could not imagine that they were talking of a «renovation».

The «bad» state of the building played an enormous role in the motivation of our architectural choices — via ArchDaily

Upgrades over previous generation Jorg Gray watches include a Swiss movement and sapphire crystal. The build quality and fit and finish are better as well. Jorg Gray has been investing a lot of money and time into consistently improving their collection – and it shows. The JG9400 line has a series of models – about nine of them right now. These includes three-handers like this as well as chronograph models. Each in a few different color schemes. The “21” as seen here most notably features a dial with Geneva stripe like polishing on it, and rich three-dimensionality — via A Blog to Rread

A fitting home for an antique collector of any kind, to be sure, but this new construction by Architectural Bureau G Natkevicius & Partners is particularly well-suited to the vintage books accumulated by the owner — via Dornob

This watch represents a very rare breed. I believe the HD3 Hidalgo XT-2 (AKA Idalgo XT-2) was introduced in about 2006 and is one of the rarer HD3 models. This fascinating watch is a new relic — via A Blog to Read

It was in 2006, in response to an invitation to tender announced by SAEM Val de Seine Aménagement, that the project for the construction of offices in Rue Emile Zola was awarded to Mateo Arquitectura. Under the contracting authority of VINCI immobilier d’entreprise and NEXITY entreprises, a twofold issue was addressed: redefining the periphery of the street block and constructing office buildings on a 15,000 sqm site overlooking the Seine, on floodable ground — via ArchDaily

Panerai’s first watches for left-handers were created in the early 1940s for Italian Navy commandos. Today, these are highly sought-after by collectors. This historic peculiarity is the distinctive feature of the new Luminor 1950 Chrono Monopulsante Left-handed 8 Days Titanio, a special edition with the the single-button manufacture P.2004/9 chronograph movement — via WatchTime

Designed by Krueck & Sexton Architects for an art collector and his family on coastal United States, the Transparent House II is located on a triangular site facing an Intracoastal Sound. Having been stricken with a serious illness and sequestered as a child, the client’s desire for openness and light manifests itself in the design of the house. Minimal visual and acoustical disruptions provide a serene environment for the art, while the building’s siting and facade design take maximum advantage of the spectacular setting. Changing conditions of water, earth, and sky can be observed from within, as nature is viewed as an unfolding piece of art itself — via ArchDaily

The buildings, terrains, and spaces Mike Mignola’s plots take place within are equally extraordinary: there are remote, factory-like castles north of the Arctic Circle, wired floor-to-ceiling with arcane laboratory equipment; maritime plagues and New England shipwrecks; intelligent geological formations in space, larger than planets, signaling down to Army radar stations at the end of World War II; abandoned mines and ruined churches; Mayan fragments mounted on the luxurious, candlelit walls of Alpine mansions; Nazi conspiracies and fallen astronauts; derelict Victorian houses wrapped in fog on the coastal moor — via BLDGBLOG

This is an ultra-rare (Milsub) Military Submariner, and to the best of my knowledge, it is the first Single-Red Rolex Submariner. Single-Red referring to the red depth rating located on the lower part of the dial. This watch also has the rare Big Winding Crown as well as the 3-6-9 Explorer dial, and the red upside-down pyramid at the top of the bezel insert — via Jake’s Rolex World

Quality over quantity today: just two images, but of the highest order. If you were at the 2008 Legend of The Motorcycle Concours d’Elegance, you may remember Californian Ron Peck’s show-stopping 1972 Triumph Rickman café racer. This is Peck’s latest creation, and it’s just knocked the socks off visitors to ADV Rider. It’s a 1966 Triumph 650, extensively reworked into a beautiful street tracker — via Bike EXIF

Located in Kansas City, Kansas, this environmentally conscious, modern home performs completely off the grid in an area desperately in need of revitalization. Being the first LEED Platinum home in the Kansas City Metropolitan area, the building serves as an example of sustainable practice and living for buyers who desire life in the city close to the urban core. This house is a combination of passive strategies and active systems which visually call out the environmental standards to which the design aspires.

The Sustainable Residence is designed by Studio 804, a not?for profit design/build program that serves as the final design studio for graduate students at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning. The student led process creates prefabricated architecture while thoughtfully responding to global problems of density and sustainability using smaller scale, local solutions — via ArchDaily

Right after the playful Angular Momentum Bronze Timepiece Bz No. 1, the Swiss brand introduces a more sober Angular Momentum Classic Bronze hand-wound watch featuring a more scratch-resistant case and a milky white Grand Feu enamel dial — via World Watch Review

As part of the1929 International Exposition in Barcelona Spain, the Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe, was the display of architecture’s modern movement to the world. Originally named the German Pavilion, the pavilion was the face of Germany after WWI, emulating the nation’s progressively modern culture that was still rooted in its classical history. Its elegant and sleek design combined with rich natural material presented Mies’ Barcelona Pavilion as a bridge into his future career, as well as architectural modernism — via ArchDaily

A house has been built in the village of Pernink in the Krusne Mountains in west Bohemia, Czech Republic. The house is located 820 metres above sea level near the German border in a valley which is defined by a wild water stream.

The client imposed a free brief right at the start of the design [FAM Architekti] which evolved over a long period. The house represents a hybrid typology of a small residential retreat and a guest house with facilities for local skiing and nature hiking — via ArchDaily

This house designed by Santiago Parramón (RTA-Office) has as main characteristic its location in a land with a high incline and a stream that crosses it. A rocky orography and the preservation of the most of the trees were the guidelines of the project.

The objective of Santigo Parramón was taken up minimally the site in order to give freedom to the stream, so they let you hear the sound of the water, the smell of vegetation, the textures… All of this come of top to the emotional aspect to the architected wanted — via ArchDaily

On an aircraft carrier, the air boss is the officer who decides every takeoff and landing. For 2011, the new Victorinox AirBoss is simpler in its design, and slightly smaller at 42mm. The look — three hands, three circles of digit tracks, and a date window at 6 o’clock — emphasizes precision, readability and functionality — via WatchTime

Mini House was designed by LineBox Studio with a loft-like layout, 17-foot ceilings, and simple materials: concrete floors, metal stairs, concrete block walls, painted white walls, no baseboards, and exposed plumbing and electrical — via Jetson Green

In 2009 the call for an office add-on emerged that should be designed [Spado Architects] closely connected to the existing office and former residential house of a master builder. The annex should be clearly recognizable as a new step forward in the company’s historical development. It’s a connection between old and new, while at the same time the existing building gets altered to form a unity with the new office. The office itself is a one storey building that bonds on the south side to the former residential house of the company owner’s family which is also used as additional office spadce. It has a very clear and simple form, the ceiling height of the new office equals the one of the ground floor of the house and therefore it is floating above the surrounding ground level — via ArchDaily