Design

Forest’s quintet was conceived by Chiasmus Partners as a viable alternative to urban dwelling. Situated in the beautiful mountain range of Yanggu, it is a group of individual dwelling that collectively form an ideal retreat.

The relationship between each house on this 15 acre site reflect the relationship between its owners. They are either relatives and close friends; they have chose to build this dream together and retire together to this beautiful retreat. The architectural language and major material are very similar between each home. Yet, due to the special terrain each house sits on, and the differences in their living habits of each family, every house is unique — via ArchDaily

The house in Melides, on the southern Alentejo Coast, by Pedro Reis, represents the desire for a holiday house as a getaway from the bustle of a big city. The client made the unusual decision to have an architectural competition between three distinct ateliers, allowing a choice from a wider range of possible solutions. This winning proposal presents a reading of the drama of the natural countryside, building it on top of a steep hill relatively protected by the surrounding rugged topography — via ArchDaily

This is the newer Nivrel La Grande Manuelle X47, and handsome classic timepiece that comes with a special type of day planner to go with the watch. It is the perfect type of watch for people who want something well-made but nothing too fancy.

The X47 is a daily planner that uses a clock face and some space below to plan your day. Rather than layout the day in sequential periods. you draw in parts of the clock face like it is a pie chart. The idea is to help you remember things by repetition, and association with where the hour hand is. The X47 book that comes with the watch is specially made for Nivrel, with the clock faces being (more or less) of the Grande Manuelle — via A Blog to Read

A Cafeteria, designed by Romi Khosla Design Studios, in a University Campus located near Auditorium, Cultural Center, Mass communication, was expected to become hub of all social activities of the Campus.

Due to the extreme climatic conditions of New Delhi, where the summer sees temperatures of above 45 degrees centigrade, and the winters often see temperatures below 5 degree centigrade.

Most student canteens in India are not air-conditioned, and are often poorly ventilated, making them very hot and oppressive in the summer and very cold in the winters.

This canteen was proposed as a Semi open air Café. This allowed to have an ambient temperature for most of the year along with good ventilation, and a variety of degrees of shade from the climate — via ArchDaily

This Luminor Submersible (PAM 371) is another favorite of mine from the 2011 Panerai lineup. It will be available for purchase later this year for price of $11,600. While the price seems a bit high, it is comparable to other exciting new Panerai models such as the PAM 382 Bronze (which can be had for a slightly lower price), and I think that the PAM 371 is a solid choice if you are looking for a more contemporary Panerai dive watch. The PAM 371 features a 47mm brushed titanium case, an automatic-wind movement (the Panerai P.9001), and the requisite dive-watch functions such as a unidirectional rotating bezel, luminous bezel dot, rubber strap, and 300 meter water resistance — via Perpetuelle.com Blog

Located in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood of Washington DC, an existing row house has been reimagined by Robert Gurney Architect as a modern, light filled urban dwelling for a professional couple. The compartmentalized interior of the existing house was gutted, and the rear façade and porch were removed. Surrounded by buildings on three sides and limited to the existing seventeen foot wide by thirty foot deep footprint, the new floor layout and open plan are intended to provide dynamic interior spaces in sharp contrast to the originally dark, cramped house — via ArchDaily

The Solo X (read cross) project began when the Ural sT was posted on Bike EXIF in May 2010. When I saw the images of that bike, I immediately fired off an email to Ural to see if we could get an sT to customize. The sT was attractive because it’s an elemental motorcycle, but this also made the build a bit of a challenge. There was not any plastic to strip off—Urals are apparently made of metal — via Bike EXIF

Over a quarter of a century ago, an architect stumbled upon the half-ruined remains of an old cement factory. The grounds contained dozens of silos, vast subterranean spaces and long-silent manufacturing equipment.

Decades later, the results of his ongoing renovation project are beyond remarkable. The complex now houses its re-designer, Gothic-influenced Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, serving as his primary residence — via Dornob

This plan, designed by TOFU, has high ceilings and large living with cross sections of two small rooms. By the relationship between great rooms and small ones, we created many different places in this small house. The house is wrapped with galvalume, the black masses standing quietly in vacant lot are familiar with the countryside — via ArchDaily

The new Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Moon-Phase Calendar automatic watch in rose gold (Ref. 26385OR.OO.A088CR.01) was officially presented last month at SIHH 2011 industry event. And a calendar watch has never looked that beautiful.

Equipped with the relatively thin AP Caliber 2324/2825 automatic movement, the watch is presented in a very slim and elegant rose gold case 39 millimeters in diameter and only 8.80 millimeters high — via World Watch Review

The rough concrete shell of the house was built using traditional local techniques and its form and finish retain the impression of the means and methods of its construction. In contrast, the interior of the house is smooth and polished in nature. Lightly hued terrazzo floors on the first floor are distinguished from the smooth plaster walls only by a degree of reflectivity and polish. The black window frames punctuate the views and define a contrast with the white interior atmosphere. In more intimate, private spaces, Lapacho wood covers the floors creating a new contrast with the walls and ceilings — via Architecture Blog

Although most manufacturers already presented their new collections at SIHH 2011, the Swiss watchmaker Corum will demonstrate its upcoming Corum Golden Bridge automatic watch next month at Baselworld 2011 event.

The new timekeeper’s main point of attraction is the CO 3131 baguette-type automatic movement that features a rare linear winding system — via World Watch Review

The recent housing bubble has driven American houses to extreme sizes and exurban locations. Too often, housing value has been determined through complicated equations based on square footage and marketable features, rather than spatial, material, or environmental quality. Even in cities like Philadelphia, low-cost mortgages have helped to foster a culture of bigger is better.

The 100K Houses were conceived by Interface Studio Architects as a response to this unsustainable approach to housing. Small, efficient, and super-green, the 100K Houses provide sustainable, affordable options for first-time Philadelphia homebuyers — via ArchDaily

The High Museum of Art, designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects, is a major public building and art repository that responds to the typological and contextual aspects of the museum’s program. The city of Atlanta’s progressive building tradition, as well as its role as a developing cultural center, had a strong influence on the design — via ArchDaily

Dock4 Architecture have designed the White Perrin house in Tasmania, Australia.

Situated on a steep site with sweeping views to the open ocean, this new dwelling was designed to make the most of it’s spectacular context. Views to the east are captured from every room of the house, while a 5 star energy efficiency rating was achieved through careful attention to the passage of the sun and high value double glazing and insulation — via CONTEMPORIST

Next month at Baselworld 2011 trade show, the Italian watchmaker will present an updated version of its Glycine Lagunare L1000 diving watch.

By the way, this is the first Glycine Lagunare that comes in a 44 millimeter case, which makes it 2 mm smaller than previous iterations of the diver. Being only 11.70 millimeters in height, it is also quite slim for a diving watch, which is rated for impressive 300 meters of depth.

Of course, playing in the second league, Glycine lacks resources to design and produce its own in-house calibers, so it is bound to use blank movements from third-party manufacturers. However, the Italian brand offers its watches with high-grade ETA 2824-2 automatic movements that are known for their robustness, reliability and accuracy: something that any mechanical tool watch really needs — via World Watch Review

German creative agency Dan Pearlman have redesigned the MTV Networks Headquarters in Berlin.

MTV Networks’ personnel can rejoice: with the redesigned and newly organized reception, meeting and break room areas at MTV headquarters, a long-held wish of employees becomes a reality and a once gloomy office complex on the Spree can finally function as the head offices– via CONTEMPORIST

This residence, designed by TOFU, is located in villa subdivision in Shiga, Japan. There are rich natural environments with Lake Biwa in thesoutheast and Mount Hira in the northwest. Therefore in the first stage, we have decided to use cedar panels as exterior material. The exterior wall is colored with three colors and attached gradation patterns, so the abstract wood texture comes and gives us a massive impression — via ArchDaily