External Brain

This established family residence in Power Street Hawthorn had previously undergone renovation with rear additions providing family living, dining and kitchen spaces. These regrettably fell short of providing an agreeable layout and flow for the family, being awkward in configuration, somewhat confined in height and lacking in good natural light. A complete rethink [Steve Domoney Architecture] of this space and its relationship to its garden setting was called for. It was agreed the best remedy would be to start afresh whilst generally keeping to the existing envelope so as not to diminish the available garden area and in so doing, provide a more liberating space and focal point for family activity — via ArchDaily

Somewhere, on the glorious roads of rural Scotland, this beautiful Yamaha XS750 custom is carving corners and blasting down the straights, at the command of its new owner. But it was built hundreds of miles away by Spirit of the Seventies, the English workshop that wears its influences on its sleeve — via Bike EXIF

Nestled in the suburbs of Albuquerque, New Mexico are the otherworldly forms of Bart Prince’s Personal Residence and Studio. As home and work place for the architect the structure truly reflects Prince’s main design principle that form so closely follows function. This ideal leads to the relatively uncommon architecture produced by Bart Prince — via ArchDaily

Classified Moto‘s KT600 is named after its donor bike and owner. The starting point was a 1987 Honda XL600R enduro, and it was commissioned by Battlestar Galactica actress (and avid motorcyclist) Katee Sackhoff — via Bike EXIF

On a heavily wooded site adjacent to a lake in Milwaukee’s western fringe, Robert Oshatz was asked to design a home for a growing family. The site originally contained a house that was unsuitable for the family’s needs and was demolished. The owners recognized the site’s natural beauty, however, and stressed the importance of retaining all of the trees that existed on the site. The clients wanted a building, constructed from natural materials, which acted as one with its environment and provided unobstructed views and connections to the surrounding landscape — via ArchDaily

Cologne-based JvB-moto has remodelled the Rumbler for small-scale production, priced it at 15,000 euros (around $18,500) and called it Dirty Deeds. And they’ve done good — via Bike EXIF

Before leaving London last week, I learned that the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was offering walk-in tours for the duration of the Olympics — via BLDGBLOG

Kenneth Hobgood Architects have sent us images of the GK House in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — via CONTEMPORIST

The Timex Expedition Military Field T498759Jhas a 42mm stainless steel case (only 11mm thick) with a mineral crystal, solid caseback, date display, and 100 metre water resistance rating — via Wrist Watch Review